Minutes from the Dean's Council Retreat on Jan. 25

Opening remarks

Mara brought the Council’s attention to recent developments in the University’s mission and vision, and University Planning Council activities which will frame the Libraries’ planning. The seven UVM strategic goals are evolving and will be refined through the semester.

Mara encouraged the Council to create the libraries’ goals for 2008-2012 from the users’ perspective, calling it, “FOUR FOR FOUR: Aspirational and inspirational goals.”

The Council members discussed their desires for retreat outcomes

• Creating processes that affect change in a positive way.
• Generating 3 or 4 concrete goals that will capture everyone’s imagination.
• Making conscious decision about who we are going to be in a rapidly changing environment.
• Getting clarity about our direction and with constancy of purpose.
• Focusing on realistic, linear progression and drawing people into the process.
• Setting high-level goals that would guide our work and help set priorities, rather than describe what we are doing.
• Creating teamwork.
• Framing the context for goals, so that everyone (top to bottom) can buy into them.

The Council brainstormed library trends, in general, for the next five years. Following is a sampling of that discussion:

• User handheld devices instead of laptops.
• Technology without electricity. Global energy resources not sustainable.
• The economy. Increasing competitive aspects of national/international markets.
• Customer-value orientation.
• Environmental crises. (Where will used technology go?) What will we do with decommissioned machines?
• Globalization. Students going abroad. International partnership with Africa, China, Eastern Europe.
• Changes in online computing environments, social networking, Web 2.0, etc. (The way we push services and the way people will interact.)
• Culture of experimentation.
• Blurring of all lines: jobs, roles, technology.
• Changing nature of information itself.
• Importance and meaning of here and now vs. long view.
• Outsourcing of functions.
• Greater accountability of universities.
• What will distinguish an individual library’s collection in age of shared resources?
• Privacy. Library passion for it versus patron’s growing disregard for it.

Implications of trends (sample from brainstorming session)

How to be all things to all people? What things will we choose what and who will be? How will we tell our story? Articulate our value? Static vs. dynamic? Understand and preserve long-view information, as well as rapidly responding to the Zeitgeist.

UVM Libraries’ Values and Guiding Principles (brainstorm session)

Users first. Innovation through Experimentation. Scholarship. Learning. Research. Inquiry. Knowledge. Discovery. Stewardship. Intellectual. Cultural. Materials. Preservation. Heritage. Community. Diversity. Access.

Two-member teams assigned to draft a strategic-goal statement; outcome measures; and actions for each of the following:

• Info Resources & Access (Paul and Birdie)
• Facilities (Jeanene and Peter, Nancy)
• Libraries’ Programs and Services (Keith and Jeanene)
• Digital (Jeff and Selene)

The group will reconvene on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 3-4:30 p.m.

The Council discussed the clear and straight-forward Strategic Plan created by Oregon State University as a potential model for UVM Libraries.

http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/strategic_pw.pdf